The Star Dou Great Forest was filled with towering ancient trees and dangling vines, and the faint roars of beasts echoed through it.
With Qian Daoliu personally leading the way, along with Gu Han and Qian Renxue, the three of them strolled through the forest as if out for a walk. It wasn't that there were no Soul Beasts around.
In truth, the low-level Soul Beasts fled as soon as they sensed Qian Daoliu's aura. They didn't dare come anywhere near.
Qian Daoliu had a very clear goal: to find Qian Renxue a Light-type Soul Beast between fifteen hundred and two thousand years old.
With Qian Renxue's talent and physique, absorbing a third Soul Ring of that age would be quite simple. And with him protecting her, nothing would go wrong.
"Xue'er, there's a seventeen-hundred-year-old Light Bird up ahead. Its attributes are especially compatible with yours, so it could be a backup choice." With only a sweep of his divine sense, Qian Daoliu easily pinpointed a target.
Qian Renxue nodded and was about to speak, but Gu Han, beside her, furrowed his brow slightly.
His [Karma Sight] had actually been active the whole time, observing their surroundings.
Just as Qian Daoliu indicated the Light Bird's location, Gu Han clearly saw an extremely faint golden Line of Karma somewhere deeper in that area.
And it resonated intensely with the Angel Martial Soul within Qian Renxue, shining far brighter than the Line of Karma connecting her to the Light Bird.
"Grandpa, Sister Xue," Gu Han blurted out, pointing in that direction. "I feel like there might be a more suitable Soul Beast over there."
Qian Daoliu glanced at Gu Han in mild surprise, since he hadn't sensed any especially powerful Light-type Soul Beast in that direction.
But remembering that Gu Han's Martial Soul could see through karma, as well as the Angel God's message, he pondered briefly before nodding. "Then let's go take a look."
The three immediately changed direction and ventured deeper into the area Gu Han had indicated.
The closer they got, the more astonished Qian Daoliu looked. He, too, could faintly sense a restrained yet pure aura of light.
After passing through a dense patch of forest, the three saw a small clearing. Beside a trickling spring at its center, a Soul Beast lay crouched.
It resembled a deer, with a snow-white body and fur that shimmered with a soft white light.
Its antlers were unlike those of ordinary deer. They were made of pure, crystallized light, with strange halos flowing through them.
Most remarkable were its eyes, which were golden and looked exceptionally gentle.
"Is that... a Holy Light Feather Deer?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Qian Daoliu's eyes.
It had been a long time since anyone had seen a Holy Light Feather Deer.
"Judging by its aura, this Soul Beast is at least fifteen thousand years old. Such beasts are exceedingly rare. They're gentle by nature and contain incredibly pure Light Soul Power."
"But a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring is absolutely beyond what a thirty-level Soul Elder can withstand." Regret colored his voice. No matter how good the Soul Beast was, Qian Renxue couldn't absorb it.
Qian Renxue gazed at the beautiful Soul Beast, her eyes full of affection. But when she heard her grandfather's words, her little face immediately fell.
Gu Han's eyes, however, gleamed. Through his Karma Sight, he saw the golden Line of Karma between Qian Renxue and the Holy Light Feather Deer trembling violently, radiating an intense sense of compatibility.
"Maybe we can try," Gu Han said, taking a deep breath as he stepped forward.
"Xiao Han, don't be reckless!" Qian Daoliu frowned. The energy of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was enough to burst a level-thirty Soul Master apart.
"Grandpa, I'm not asking Sister Xue to forcefully absorb it."
Gu Han looked at Qian Daoliu with determination, then at the Holy Light Feather Deer. It seemed to have noticed them, but it hadn't fled. Instead, it watched them curiously.
"My Martial Soul might be able to build a 'bridge' between them," Gu Han said softly.
"A bridge?" Even Qian Daoliu was at a loss when he heard those two words.
But Gu Han didn't explain. He raised his hand, and the phantom of the Karma Scissors appeared in his palm. Two purple Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
The blood-red Lines of Karma within the Karma Scissors still coiled around them. But now, the power Gu Han was drawing on seemed to belong to the ability of one of his future Soul Skills.
"I can only use a small part of it, but that should be enough."
Then he closed his eyes and concentrated, reaching beyond his current Soul Skills to touch a vague ability belonging to the very source of the Karma Scissors: [Karma Grafting].
Using himself as a medium, it could briefly graft and reshape karma, at an enormous cost.
"Karma Grafting, activate!" At once, he felt Soul Power from the future pour into his Martial Soul.
Faintly, the phantom of the River of Time shimmered above the Star Dou Great Forest, and his face turned deathly pale.
He controlled the Karma Scissors, not to cut the Line of Karma, but to painstakingly connect the Line linking Qian Renxue to the impossibility of absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring,
with another Line connecting the Holy Light Feather Deer to the faint possibility of willingly offering itself in sacrifice.
The process far exceeded his current Soul Power reserves. His Soul Power poured out like a flood, while his Spiritual Power was rapidly consumed. Thin trails of blood even seeped from his nose and mouth.
Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted. He clearly felt a rule spread from Gu Han and begin to interfere with reality.
"Moo—"
Just then, the Holy Light Feather Deer let out a long, resonant call.
A glimmer of understanding flashed in its eyes. It slowly rose to its feet and bowed its head toward Qian Renxue. The crystal antlers atop its head shone with a gentle light as they reached toward her of their own accord.
Guided by Gu Han, it had truly chosen the gentlest form of sacrifice. The violent aura of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast within its Soul Ring had been reduced to a minimum, leaving only the purest source of light.
"Sister Xue, now!" Gu Han cried weakly, nearly unable to stay on his feet.
Though shocked, Qian Renxue trusted Gu Han. She immediately sat cross-legged and guided the black Soul Ring into herself.
The process was still painful, but the Soul Ring's energy was unusually docile, slowly washing through Qian Renxue's meridians and Martial Soul.
On closer inspection, a faint golden thread could be seen around the inner edge of the black Soul Ring.
[Ding! Successfully and significantly altered the plot point "Qian Renxue's Third Soul Ring," allowing her to surpass the limit and absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring! Reward: 500 Magic Modification Points! Reward: Spiritual Power enhanced once!]
In all his years, this was the first time Qian Daoliu had witnessed something so unbelievable. He looked at Gu Han, whose Soul Power was depleted and who was nearly collapsing, and his eyes filled with complicated emotions beyond words.
"This boy actually did it. I've never heard of anything like this."
Yet the instant Qian Renxue finished absorbing the Soul Ring and stabilized, Gu Han suffered a severe backlash for forcefully using a Soul Skill far beyond his cultivation level.
He grunted. An invisible force yanked at his consciousness, and darkness swallowed his vision as he plunged into an endless abyss.
When his senses returned, he found that he was no longer in the Star Dou Great Forest. He was floating in the middle of a river.
There was no up or down, left or right, and no sense of time passing.
All around him were countless crisscrossing "lines," each shining with a different color.
Some were thick as dragons;
some were fine as silk, as though a single touch could snap them;
some blazed with golden light, while others were a piercing blood-red;
some stretched into the past, while others reached toward a hazy future.
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, billions of Lines of Karma rested in their proper places above this river, following their appointed courses.
"This place feels so familiar. Could this be the River of Time?"
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